University of Virginia - Corks and Curls Yearbook (Charlottesville, VA)

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depot. All were loaded into two boxcars without any semblance of rations, over- coats, blankets, canteens, etc. Yet the war was on! The next morning the cars were unloaded at Strasburg, where gracious citizens shared their breads and meats with the half-starved but nonetheless enthusiastic troops. Orders to proceed to Winchester immediately if not sooner quickly circulated. Upon arrival, our weary men in arms were greeted by strains of Yankee Doodle and cries of iHur- rah for the Union? Little did the people of Winchester realize that that very day, April 17th, the ordinance for secession had been passed at Richmond. At mid- night, everyone was armed with rifles and reloaded into the boxcars. By daybreak the destination was reached: Harperis F erry. iiHere they fell upon the Federal garrison burning the arsenal and thousands of arms. The objective was to capture these arms for the Confederacy. The Federals quickly withdrew, and many rifles were salvaged or secured from citizens who had secretly concealed them. After a bloodless ten-day campaign in which no one had the opportunity to fire even one blank cartridge, the companies were ordered back to the University and dissolved. The governorls comment was ithat there was too much talent to be risked in one bodyf Truer words are rarely spoken, for in a few years most of the men were to become officers. Phelps let out a great consuming, Neanderthal yawn. Expression of the weariness of the world. iiTime, gentlemen, time. Time for all good men to return to their own racks. This great albatross has a test tomorrow at ten? he said. Stretching of legs. Contagion of yawning. Arms through sleeves, buttons being buttoned, hands gloved, tired but sincere good-nights. Last breaths of the fire-warmed air. They left Phelps like the returning Confederate soldiers leaving the grave of a friend for their homes. Phelps alone. He undressed, washed, and brushed his teeth. He emptied the ashtrays, checked the fire and set his alarm clock. Ecstatic falling into the rack. Pulling the blankets tight around his body. The mattress is hard. It is a mans bed. The sound of time ticking through space. If only one could remember all the sto- ries, all the laughs, all the faces. Phelps knew that twenty years from now there would only be vague remembrances, vague impressions left on the memory like fingerprints on glass. He would always be able to remember the buildings, the statues, the gardens, but they weren,t the important thing. What was important to remember was the state of consciousness whose breeding ground and context was the University, the active collective spiritual force which conditioned both the way he looked at the world and at himself. You could call it the Universityis personality, its soul. You couldift hold it in your hand and say to someone who wanted to know what it was you were trying to say, iiHere, this is what it is? If he hasnlt been a part of it, nothing you could say would mean much. Itls like trying to describe a taste. It would be nights like this that Phelps realized he would miss most of all. It was impossible to distinguish that nightis bull session from all the others that had preceded it. It seemed strange that nights like this,

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wilder calathumpian serenades, the students gathered before the pavilion in which Professor Davis, chairman of the faculty, lived. After several minutes had gone by, Mr. Davis came out and asked the crowd to leave. He was met with derisive laughter and even more noise. He approached the nearest student and at- tempted to pull off his mask, whereupon the student drew his pistol and shot the professor. He died the next day? uIs that right? Fletcher burst out. Gotts, interested in the subject of riots, asked if anyone knew anything about the Jefferson Theatre riots. H. T., pleased that he finally had something to contribute, said, The riot took place when the Jefferson Theatre suddenly raised admission fees from live to ten cents. ttOn a warm Sunday afternoon, U.Va. students tmost of whom turned out to be coerced first yearmen and iun-shaped up, pledgesl opened fire on paying customers at the Jefferson with rotten tomatoes. Gentlemen to the manner born, indeed, held their Hre whenever a woman dared step into the area under assault. The so- lution seemed simple enough to the manager, who immediately called Dean Page. Angered at having been rudely awakened from his afternoon nap, he said that he would be happy to quell, the riot if the manager would be so kind as to send the students out to his home. The following Monday morning admissions were back to five cents. Phelps, glancing at his watch, realized it was late. Fletcher asked how late it was. TIES quarter after one? In his usual manner, Fletcher replied, iiIs that rightly, Vanderslice pointedly asked, ttIsrft this a little past your bedtime? ttLeth call it a night? said Lambert. I have a quiz tomorrow. I dont know how I get sucked into these bull sessions? That isn,t like you, Phelpsfl said H.T. iiAre you afraid that Georgia will have a hard time meeting its quota for the draft? ill just carft see spending the next winter in Viet Nam. illfs very interesting? said Cleghorne, how radically students, attitudes differ from those of students here at the University prior to the War of Northern Aggression? Vanderslice interjected bitterly, ttCivil War, Cleghornefi itAll right, Civil War? Cleghorne said as he began to recount some facts which he had picked up in his studies. iiThe University actually marched to war. As sectional controversies peaked in 1861, war seemed inevitable. Students here petitioned the faculty for permission to organize two fighting companies. The request was granted and the ranks were soon filled. Colorful drills drew spectators to the Lawn each afternoon to see the Sons of Liberty as the first company was called, come prancing by in their vel- vet embroidered Ishirts of dazzling red and black doeskiu trousers while at the other end the Southern Guard; distinguished by blue shirts and light-blue caps, ambled over the site of Homefs statue in perfect quick-time. These patriotic young volunteers were armed with antiquated Hintlock muskets minus the Hints, cartridge boxes minus the cartridges, and bayonet scabbards. Each company num- bered sixty-five to seventy strong. ttOn April 16th rumor broke out that the die was cast, and the regiment quickly assembled on the Lawn, eagerly awaiting the call to action. Soon our heroic as- semblage marched into Charlottesville and joined the iMonticello Guards at the

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, 1 iQMUVA lei J 00 QsQQQe, OeON sively defying the laws of logic, they would be remembered collectively with the their light songs significantly above the war cries of the outside world. But pas- same intense quality as the memory of a first love. small gatherings Whose outward purpose was the voicing of trivia, could sound